Floyd Mayweather has selected his next opponent for his return to the ring and it is not UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
The undefeated boxer will once again step out of retirement and take his talents to Japan where he’ll face lauded kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa in the main event of Rizin 14 at the Saitama Arena in Tokyo on New Year's Eve.
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The shock announcement was made during a Rizin 14 press conference. Mayweather hasn’t competed since scoring a 10th round knockout against Conor McGregor in August 2017 in a blockbuster showdown between the boxer and mixed martial arts’ biggest star.
That particular fight was fought under boxing rules. As of press time, the rule set and weight class have yet to be negotiated for Mayweather's first fight in Japan.
“It has always been a goal of mine to go outside of the U.S. as a professional,” said Mayweather (50-0, 27 KOs) while fending off questions regarding the rules and weight class for the fight.
“I just want to entertain. I’ll speak with my team and get with Rizin to come up with a great idea. It’s all about entertainment and that’s what we want to do for the people.”
His opponent is the 20-year-old Nasukawa, who boasts an undefeated kickboxing record of 27-0 with 21 knockouts. In his last outing, Nasukawa scored a unanimous decision against Kyoji Horiguchi at Rizin FF 13.
Nasukawa is also 4-0 in mixed martial arts with his last fight taking place in October 2017 against Yamato Fujita.
“I would probably say that this is my biggest event in life,” Nasukawa said.
“You might be surprised after hearing this announcement. Honestly speaking, I’m a little surprised myself.
"Nobody has defeated my opponent in the past and I’d like to be the man to make history. My punch is here to change history.”
Although the fight has been announced, it will take several weeks to settle on a ruleset. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that the bout is fought under kickboxing rules. However, it is certainly a possibility that Mayweather vs. Nasukawa will be a boxing match.
There’s also a growing sentiment that there could be a unique set of rules in place that would make the fight a pure exhibition bout that wouldn’t affect either fighter’s professional record.
Either way, it’s certain that the event will be massive and will rake in major dollars for Mayweather.
“As far as the weight class and rules, we’ll talk about that and get it situated within the next couple of weeks,” Mayweather said.
“We all know that I’ve had a great career. I’ve been blessed to make over a billion dollars during my career while making smart investments.
"This particular bout is a special bout. The world has never seen Mayweather compete live in Tokyo.”
